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Sweden is no longer the exception that is based solely on the recommendations of the authorities and the sense of responsibility of the population. For the first time since the outbreak of the global corona pandemic, Scandinavians are now adjusting their strategy to contain the spread of the virus. The government plans to grant local locks to regional authorities.
So far, the country has largely avoided imposing strict Covid-19 rules on its citizens. But now the country is tightening measures to prevent a further increase in infections. The Swedish Ministry of Health will work with the regions next week to introduce local restrictions. This is what the Swedish correspondent for the British Telegraph reports.
Dr Joacim Rocklöv (40), professor of epidemiology at Umeå University, is quoted as saying that the new measures show that Sweden is tacitly changing its strategy: “It is very obvious that this is a new strategy, but newspapers are still reporting on the Swedish strategy as if it were finalized in March. “
But there is no herd immunity
Apparently, according to Rocklöv, the Swedish government is no longer convinced of the infection strategy. The population has not achieved immunity. Authorities, says the professor, “must be shocked after all these strong claims that we were getting close to immunity in April and May. You must have realized that this is not really the case. “
Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell (64) admitted this week that the return of infections in the fall changed his agency’s strategy: “I think the obvious conclusion is that the level of immunity is not as high as we might think. to have.”
The exceptional case of Sweden thus changes to the normal European case. 65 cases per million people were reported on Friday. Neighbors Denmark, Finland and Norway show figures of 71, 40 and 25 cases.
Measures “between regulations and recommendations”
The measures that will come into force this Monday authorize the regional health authorities to prohibit citizens from visiting shopping centers, museums, libraries, sports facilities and cultural events. Also, depending on the region, older people may be asked to avoid public transport and not visit other people in risk groups.
The authorities are calling these local restricted areas, which will also be introduced in Uppsala, near Stockholm, in particular. The number of infections in the city of about 170,000 inhabitants has increased tenfold in recent weeks. The number of new cases has also increased steadily across the country since the beginning of September.
The new measures taken by Sweden will not yet be as strict as in other European countries, where non-compliance is punishable by fines. Bråstad, chief lawyer for Sweden’s health department, calls the new rules “something between rules and recommendations.” It is the strongest recommendation that authorities can make, but non-compliance does not result in penalties. (kes)
